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Newsletters
Newsletters 'are electronic newspaper-like letters sent to subscribers of Blue Tea Games's ''email. The letters detail developer notes and teasers/previews of Blue Tea's future games. This page will serve as an archive for those letters, so that information may be taken and analyzed from them for future use. All grammar mistakes found in these newsletters will be corrected for ease of reading. Letters Archive '''May 2018 - "Early Announcement of the Next Dark Parables" "The world's favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May." - Edwyn Way Teale Though it's already late spring, about May/June, we are glad to share our latest news with you on such a good day. Early announcement of the next Dark Parables Finished the latest Dark Parables, Return of the Salt Princess? Can't wait for the sequel? Most people guessed it correctly: the next Dark Parables will be based on the story The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen. And the title of this game will be: The Matchgirl's Lost Paradise. What can you imagine from the name? "Lost Paradise" gives a range of imagination. Could it be some sort of wonderland, or maybe a nightmare? How does it relate to the Matchgirl? Let's take a look at the teaser to see if there are any clues: Watch our channel Not enough hints? Okay, let's check some concept drafts. Before going to production, our artists base the story on how they feel about a certain scene in the game, along with the art lead's concept to make sure the style doesn't deviate too much, to create concept art. All the scenes in production will be based on these concept drafts as reference. Please be aware the final scene in the game may vary from the concepts below slightly. The New Town A beautiful village, but people have gone away; why? Decorative elements of stars are used, is there any meaning? A statue of a girl is erect in the town square. Who is she? Stars falling from the sky seem like an omen. Is it a good or bad one? The Old Town On the other side, a forgotten village has fallen into ruins for centuries. There's another statue, but it is different from the one in the new town. Could they be related? What's the relationship? A carriage is old and broken, yet illuminated by the moonlight. Traces of fire can be seen everywhere. What's happened here? What's the secret behind it all? Check out the blog written by our team Have you seen our blog? Did you notice the categories? As there is also miscellaneous content in these posts, we have created the following categories: * News: Early announcements of works-in-progress and new projects. * Developer Talk: Free talk about game development, why we did what we did in the games, and anything about game development. * Behind the Story: About the story and its setting, messages hidden in the game subtly. ...and more categories coming soon. You may suggest what you'd like to know from us. Check out our blog Next newsletter is coming in late June, at the start of summer. June 2018 - "Sneak Peek at the next Dark Parables Mystery!" Today is the summer solstice, the first day of summer! The sun is shining high in the blue, blue sky, green leaves and colorful flowers look even more beautiful in the daytime! Summer is a happy season, luring us to go out and have fun. When you've played outside too long and the muggy weather bothers you, or if you don't want to get tanned, come inside for a break with some tea! Check out our e-newsletter to learn about the hottest news from Blue Tea Games. Early announcement of the next Dark Parables Everybody is excited for the upcoming Dark Parables: The Matchgirl's Lost Paradise. The survey is estimated to be released in early summer. Since summer's started already, we won't have to wait too long. Let's see a bit more before we get in to the investigation with the Fairytale Detective. We saw two concepts last time, so let's look at the map this time. This case takes place in a valley landform. The areas of the New Town and the Old Town are included. What else do you see? Storytelling Blue Tea Games designed the story outline and the characters in the upcoming Dark Parables. We place special importance on the story, since it's part of a larger series. We expect an adventure to tell an engaging story; meeting different characters, learning the plot gradually, and stopping an evil plan all add to this story. Like reading a book or watching a movie, a story should be learned slowly, added up bit by bit, enticing players to reveal the full truth. For those who love the stories of Blue Tea Games, do you want to see a sneak peek of the Matchgirl's story before the demo? It might be slightly different from what you see during the game, but you might learn things you won't in the game. Spoiler Alert -- Stop reading now if you don't want to learn about The Matchgirl's Lost Paradise Prologue "She's coming to stop me. I know..." A girl stands at a high place, alone. She's mumbling; talking to herself only, for no one lives in the village anymore. It's a late autumn through mid-winter night, cold enough to freeze people; the girl doesn't seem to care. She's wearing a dress that exposes her shoulders and holds an ornate staff high over her head. The head of the staff glows eerily, making it seem like a matchstick. She's waiting for someone -- for a hindrance to her plans to come. Just as HE predicted, a carriage with someone arrived in this area... Life was entirely erased by the fire, but no corpses were found. Flames of Illusion -- that's what people called the mystery. Similar cases before this one were just rumors, passed down for hundreds of years. The most recent case involved the landowner of Stars Hollow, whose house caught on spooky blue fire three days ago. The landowner was seen inside, but had no intention to escape from the fire. The strange part was that he disappeared, along with the fire; even more mysterious, the house showed no signs of fire. As always, you were entrusted with this case, and many others that couldn't be solved by human power. These cases sound like bedtime stories, with magic, curses, princesses, witches, and other fabled characters involved. Sometimes you're requested to go to far off places, such as tall mountains or vast seas to solve mysteries. It's all because you're the Fairytale Detective. "The Matchgirl...?" The name of this crucial person flashed through your mind. You were listening to your tape recorder, reading your journal with its newspaper clippings and pieces of information to prepare yourself before arriving at the scene of the case. It's your habit; there's not much to do in a carriage, after all, except organize your thoughts. People were afraid and fled for their lives when the landowner's house caught fire. The village was quiet and lifeless as your carriage passed by. It's hard to imagine there were so many people living here just a few days before. Just as your carriage stopped in the plaza, in front of a statue, a girl appeared in the distance, as if she'd been waiting for you for a long time. She waved the staff in her hand and pointed it toward you. Before you could think, a fireball flew from the staff straight to your carriage. The carriage was hit! The horse, scared, ran away. Luckily, you got out of the carriage just in time. However, kindling and debris from the flames started burning the houses everywhere. When you open your eyes, you find yourself surrounded by fire. "It's not an illusion... these flames are real!" ''you muttered. You look at the girl standing on the roof of a house; you're sure this is the Matchgirl you were sent to find. Illuminated by the bright flames, the girl smirked. It's a clear message: you're not welcome here. More than that, she's trying to provoke you. Then the Matchgirl leaves, disappearing into the darkness. You had no choice but to escape from the blaze first. A beautiful mansion nearby seemed strong enough to resist the fire, and perhaps there was something useful inside. Luckily, the door was unlocked, allowing you to slip through to safety. A gorgeous chamber filled with luxurious decorations, and subtly lit by fire outside and moonlight, came into view. You looked around quickly, as usual; what most attracted you was not the glittering treasures, but instead, a tiny matchbox. The matches inside were wet. In fact, the entire chamber was dank as well, and the entire carpet appeared to be soaked with buckets of water. The design on the matchbox was the same as the matchboxes found in cases before; a paper torn from a diary was found next to the matchbox: ''"A girl sold me a box of magic matchsticks claiming it grants wishes." You realized it's the house of the vanished landowner; people tried to put out the fire with water, but it was too late... To be continued... Exclusive Clip from Blue Tea Games Blue Tea Games was founded in 2003. Up to now, it's already been 15 years! Let's review the great games we've made. Which game is your favorite? Next newsletter should be coming late July, towards mid to late summer. ''' More exclusive stories about The Matchgirl's Lost Paradise, and... a surprise letter from a princess! Don't miss it! '''July 2018 - "The Prelude of the Match Fire Mystery" "Inevitably you're going to be delayed somewhere. Always have a book. Always have a movie. Always have a notebook. And then always have a sense of humour." -Phil Keoghan Unexpected results will inevitably happen for a variety of reasons, especially when you aren't directly involved with a project. It's mid summer already, and the survey of the latest Dark Parables is still in preparation. We regret to say the survey had to be delayed a bit; it's almost done according to what we have been told. However, we still expect it to be available in the near future. A delay is better than a disaster! Let's preview what's coming up. Early announcement of the next Dark Parables For the grammatical reason and the more common use of the tale's name, the title of the next Dark Parables game has been changed to The Match Girl's Lost Paradise. Though we liked the name "Matchgirl" for its unique sound and feel of a strong character, it's fine to call this character the Match Girl instead. Storytelling We posted the first part of the prologue of the next Dark Parables in the previous newsletter. We've divided the story into chapters of a game; sometimes it's six chapters, while other times it's ten (but the amount of content in the games should be the same. If the game has six chapters, the chapters will be longer than if the game had ten chapters). The prologue, called Chapter 0 for our development team, is the content from the beginning of the game until you see "Chapter 1" appear on screen. In this letter we've posted the last part of the prologue. Since it's a story outline, a large amount of gameplay-related content has been omitted. In story outlines, we concentrate on the plot primarily (and additional content you won't see in the game, such as other characters' perspectives of the plot). Once again, since this is only an outline, it will be different from what you see in the final product. We will still use the term "Matchgirl" in this plot outline, since it is what we originally planned to use. Spoiler Alert -- Stop reading now if you don't want to learn about The Match Girl's Lost Paradise Prologue (Part 2) There should be some more clues about the mystery in the landlord's house. But before you investigate, you'd better extinguish the fire burning more and more furiously outside first. You searched around quickly and picked up some items by intuition (because, of course, your intuition is always correct) and grabbed a soaked mantle found inside the room, which allowed you to have limited protection under the raging flames. You rushed out and stopped in front of the statue, the place your carriage just being attacked. A statue stood in the middle of the plaza, the centerpiece of a fountain. A faucet was at the base of the statue like you predicted. After a bit of work to activate it, the water sprayed everywhere! Instantly, the flames were gone. Getting wet in such cold weather is definitely painful, but still better than being burnt alive. You were relieved and took a short break beside the statue. You realized the statue had an eerie resemblance to the Matchgirl you saw. A plaque at the statue's feet held another mystery: There's a wish-granting witch who lives in the forest. Another witch? The word made you recall all your previous cases dealing with witches. Those women had magic powers, but none were benign; they tended to drag innocent people into their plots. Some of them were doubted to be witches, but they changed their names or even changed their appearances to evade capture. The term 'witch' was almost equal to villain! You wondered if there were any good witches still in this world. If the Matchgirl was a witch, what was her goal? Eternal youth, endless life, almighty power, revenge... the list goes on and on. You could easily think up tons of reasons for a witch's plan. Granting wishes sounded good, but it couldn't be so simple. In fact, people who made wishes with the magic matches were the ones who disappeared! Getting back to the landlord's house, this time without the luminous flames outside, you saw a large mirror reflecting moonlight. You could now start your close inspection. You turned papers and notes, and miscellaneous pieces of information were found, including a document about falling stars that had been frequently observed around here for more than a hundred years; the village, Stars Hollow, was named after these stars. The village was also built by a kingdom relic. The kingdom's name on the document was too blurred to read, but you could make out the emblem: a golden axe and acorn adorning a shield. A newspaper in the room also reported the tale of the vanished landowner, and explained that no body was found. Perhaps the most interesting note in the room was a storybook about a witch that lived in the forest. Legend says that the witch grants wishes. It seemed that the legend of the forest witch was once a good story; at least no cases of blue fire were mentioned, and the tale was passed from generation to generation in this village. Suddenly, you had a strong feeling that you were being stared at. You looked around the room; nobody was there, except some lifelike sculptures, exquisite figurines, and huge nutcracker dolls. You kept glancing around until your eyes found the large mirror. You slowly made your way towards the mirror; you didn't know why, but it felt like someone looked at you behind it. You stared at your reflection, the reflected Detective stared back at you. You touched the mirror, and the reflection did the same to you. Without a doubt, it was only a normal mirror... But then your image distorted: it became a long-haired girl, and as the picture cleared, you could see it was the Matchgirl! She stretched her hand out from the mirror to grab you. In fright you retreated a few steps, still you barely escaped her grasp. You had a feeling that you were about to be dragged into the mirror. The Matchgirl's face faded and disappeared; the mirror was once again the image of familiarity. Flame of illusion, fireballs, and the mirror enchantment.. You saw at least three types of magic your enemy can use already. Who knows if she has even more? How is such a young girl (it seems she's not older than Princess Brigid, the Salt Princess) able to have multiple witchcraft talents? The opponent this time seemed to be an unfair match for the Detective, didn't she? Perhaps the Matchgirl was spying on you from the mirror, to see if you would leave or not, but you had a stronger feeling that she was luring you to chase her. Even if it was a trap, you had no choice but to move on. If the Matchgirl was the witch in the forest, then the forest was the best place to search for her. Though there were unsolved enigmas in the village, you decided to come back later. You really wanted to have a talk to such a stange girl, and you felt she wished to do the same, too. Upon leaving the village, you saw an abandoned zone in the countryside different from the prosperity in Stars Hollow. The Matchgirl was walking farther to a dilapidated area in the distance, located under the shimmer of falling stars. You decided to chase behind her. In front of rubble and collapsed buildings, you found that your way was blocked. It looked like the gateway of a citadel. The Matchgirl was looking at you from the top of the gatehouse. Your eyes met hers; she smirked again, then turned away. She knew you would come to her. You checked for any method to get in. A rusted emblem decorated with a golden acorn and an axe was on the gate. To be continued... A Letter from a Princess After a case is closed, will the people involved keep in contact with the Detective? Perhaps, as we know many of these characters will reappear in later cases to lend the Detective a helping hand. Even if they haven't shown up in a long time, we would still like to know how they're doing. See what Brigid, the salt princess, has to say to the Detective. It might give you some hints about her story in the future... Potential Spoilers -- The content below will spoil parts of the plot of Return of the Salt Princess More exclusive previews of Dark Parables: The Match Girl's Lost Paradise and other exciting content included. Don't miss our newsletters! The next newsletter should be coming late summer or early autumn. August 2018 - "Introduction of the Otherworld" "August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time." -Sylvia Plath August days are almost over. Many cities suffered heat waves and extremely hot weather this summer. August rain helps cool down the world. What's the weather like where you live? Is it rainy like ours? See what odd and interesting things we bring to you in this newsletter. Early announcement of the next Dark Parables The survey of the next Dark Parables ''title, The Match Girl’s Lost Paradise, has been released. Have you tried it? Did you enjoy it? We hope you liked it and will look forward to the full game, estimated to release in Q4 of this year. Let’s see more of our concept drafts: the Sundial and the Moondial. The devices seem to be in a pair. If you have tried the survey, you may recognize the Sundial from the game already. Where could the Moondial be located? Can you imagine what the use of these devices is? '''The Inhabitants of the Otherworld' “There are other worlds out there just beyond the one we're in.” The Otherworld is a core concept of our stories. For example, Solwood, an enchanted realm, flourishes with golden leaves and silver branches isolated from human world; Rosaria, a territory of fairies, where no place in the world is equal to its beauty; the Fabled Land of eternal night where invaluable treasures can be found; the Crooked House, an insane place that reflects the twisted mind of the Crooked Man; the fantastic world of Enchantia, and more. The settings of these worlds, including the mythical creatures, the magic systems, the cultures and the religions, are all fragments waiting to be woven together. Some of them have been used in our stories. You may see more in our future games. Welcome to the Otherworld. Fairies There are many different types of fairies. Sometimes they’re called faerie, faery, fay, or spirit. Though they are all embraced by the term “fairy”, they are completely different races, much like how catfish, goldfish, jellyfish, and starfish are all "fish" but they're completely different creatures. Some fairies are tiny, while some of them are as big as a human; some are timid, while some are mischievous. Flower Spirits Height: About 3 inches Characteristics: In appearance, they're similar to flowers and plants, they float in the air Habitat: Undisturbed areas of nature far from human life; the Forbidden Grove Food: Pollen, honey, dew, floral scents Flower spirits are named for their appearance, which is similar to flower blossoms. Flower spirits are found in multiple colors, each relating to a specific flower. Rosy red, tulip yellow, and lily blue are the most frequently seen by travelers. Other types of flower spirits like lilac violet, crimson poppy, white jasmine, and pink peach are rare but still seen from time to time. Legends say flower spirits are created when a flower is grown with moon's dew, but such an occurence is very rare. Such tiny creatures usually live far away from humans due to their timidity. Flower spirits are intelligent, though people can't communicate with them verbally or through telepathy. During an astronomical or magical event, when boundaries blur between this land and the next, travelers might become lost in the Otherworld. Flower spirits guide the lost people through their land, back to the traveler's home. Though they are timid little things and often reluctant to show themselves, they obstruct creatures from going to a certain area in the Otherworld if there's danger ahead. They have limited power to affect nature, such as making vines grow rapidly or letting brambles move in a limited area. Similar magical abilities allow the spirits to protect their homeland from being invaded by enemies. Simply put, they are harmless creatures. However, if you intend to hurt them, they might trap you with brambles. Unless you are very lucky, or you are truly a brave adventurer who puts your life in danger constantly by traveling to unknown lands, flower spirits typically will not appear close to you. We have records that flower spirits are found in the Mirror World, within the Forbidden Grove. Due to flower spirits rarely being seen with humans, we don't have a concrete lifespan for them. But we're sure that their favorite things are flowers! Naming them after the flowers most similar to their appearances would certainly please them. Sing a Fortune-Telling Song ' ' Oranges and Lemons "Oranges and Lemons!" say the bells of St. Clement's. "You owe me five farthings," say the bells of St. Martin's. "When will you pay me?" ask the bells at Old Bailey. "When I grow rich," say the bells at Shoreditch. "When will that be?" ask the bells of Stephney. "I do not know," says the great bell of Bow. Here comes a candle to light up your bed, And here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chip, chop, chip, chop, the last man is dead. More exclusive stories and exciting content is included in our next newsletter. Don't miss it! The next newsletter should be coming in the fall. September 2018 - "Mirror Mirror, Mirror of Dark Parables “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” -Albert Camus The date of the Autumnal Equinox is on September 23rd of this year. Traditionally, it's a day to mark the end of summer and the beginning of autumn (in the Northern Hemisphere); that is to say, fall has come! Colors of fall foliage come along with a cool breeze. The warmth of summer's wreckage remains to keep a balance on weather. It's a beautiful and comfortable season to enjoy. We’ve prepared something splendid to match this season just for you. Early announcement of the next Dark Parables A shattered mirror stands alone in the castle ruins as pale moonlight falls upon it. Something that is not really there is reflected inside; it's the concept art of the hallway. In the next Dark Parables, The Match Girl’s Lost Paradise, mirrors will be symbolic items that play an important role throughout the game. There is more than one large, magical mirror. Perhaps they are in a pair...again? The Inhabitants of the Otherworld “I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?” -John Lennon Fairy There are many different types of fairies. Even if we know they're real and we believe in their existence, we may not see them, not even once. People say children are most likely to spot out fairies; perhaps it's due to their innocence, since simplicity and playfulness are similar to most fairies' natures. The Light Fairies Height: Not larger than a child's palm Characteristics: Glowing, agile flying, gossiping Habitat: Forests and ponds Food: Sunshine, luminosity Light Fairies usually appear as glowing spots in the air. Sometimes people mistake them for the will-o'-wisp, but if you ever see how they move, all you'll see is a vividly glowing dot that randomly flies in all directions. If you ever have a chance to see a Light Fairy resting on a leaf, you can see a pair of butterfly-like wings quivering on the back of a small, humanoid figure inside the light. They are tiny in size, not larger than a child's hand. Their personalities are similar to a mischievous child, too. Light Fairies are gregarious creatures that like playing in groups. They especially like secrets and gossip. They are intelligent beings, able to use human language to talk, although sometimes their talking speed is just like their agility: you might not be able to tell what they're saying. There are reports that say they could talk with a normal speed if they want. Light Fairies might slip into the ears of sleeping humans too. They can tell dreadful stories in dreams to cause nightmares. Basically, they won't create something out of nothing, but they sometimes tend to exaggerate the truth. They like to show up in front of alone people unexpectedly, then intentionally divulge terrible rumors and gloat over people's nervousness and fright. Due to their impish nature, they live relatively close to humans. If you are walking alone in a forest or getting near a pond, where the environment seems peaceful for living and has a warm glow, you are very likely to have the chance to meet Light Fairies there! Light Fairies are active during daytime. They usually hide inside flowers during night. When petals close for the night, Light Fairies slumber sweetly behind them. The fairies coexist with most pollinating insects. Butterflies and honey bees are their friends. Light Fairies are weak in physical strength, not even stronger than butterflies. Probably due to this weakness, they are able to move dexterously. It's almost impossible to catch a Light Fairy with your hands or even a net. Unlike most creatures who need food to survive, Light Fairies need luminosity to keep living. They could live longer than a human life if a sufficient light source is ensured. Sing a Fortune-telling Song One Misty Moisty Morning One misty, moisty morning, When cloudy was the weather, I chanced to meet an old man Clothed all in leather. He began to compliment, And I began to grin, How do you do, how do you do? And how do you do again? The next newsletter should be coming in the season of the witch. More exclusive stories and brilliant content included. Don't miss it! Category:Reference Category:Archives